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After a near-perfect launch on Sept. 9, the space shuttle Atlantis is preparing to return home tomorrow, Sept. 20, competing an 11-day mission centered around the International Space Station. The AP reports, "The 115-foot-long solar wings they added will
generate power for the space station once it's rewired during the next
mission, slated to launch in December."

Engineers inspecting the shuttle Discovery's external tank following
Sunday's launch scrub found a crack in the tank's foam insulation near
a bracket holding a 17-inch oxygen feed line in place. Some engineers
believe the crack must be repaired but senior managers say a variety of
options are on the table, from fly as is to making repairs.

... Engineers also found a small piece of foam insulation resting on the
surface of Discovery's mobile launch platform that may be associated
with the crack. The crack is located near a bracket toward the top of
the hydrogen section of the external tank that holds the liquid oxygen
feedline in place. It is not yet known what might have caused the
crack, although extreme temperature differences because of the presence
of super-cold propellants could have played a role.

Definitely not good.

In order to comply with 1990's environmental regulations that banned the use of freon, the foam insulation on the Shuttle's main fuel tank was reformulated using a different aerosolizing agent. The first shuttle to use the newly formulated foam flew in 1997, and since then NASA has had nothing but trouble with the foam insulation.

NASA managers decided to go ahead with the launch
attempt because of three criteria: They are confident enough foam still
is on the bracket to prevent a large piece of ice from forming; that
the area of foam where the piece dropped was still intact; and they
don't believe the area will be exposed to extreme heat during ascent.

After being grounded for nearly a year, the Space Shuttle Discovery is ready again for launch. Liftoff is scheduled for around 3:49 PM EDT today. NASA wants to keep several projects, including the boondoggle International Space Station, roughly on schedule. As a result, NASA decided to continue Shuttle flights until the program is scheduled to be terminated around 2010.

NASA engineers redesigned the external fuel tank after the Columbia accident, and again after a piece of foam insulation
came off the tank during a mission last year. In the most recent
change, more than 35 pounds of foam have been removed in what NASA
describes as the biggest aerodynamic change ever made to the shuttle's
launch system. NASA tried other design changes to the ice-frost ramps,
such as removing foam, but they didn't hold up well in wind tunnel
tests.

The 1-pound slab of foam insulation broke off Discovery's external fuel tank
two minutes after liftoff last year and, unlike in the case of
Columbia, missed hitting the shuttle. NASA responded by grounding
shuttle flights for almost a year.

I have been vocal about my dislike of the Shuttle program and the dangerously inefficient bureacracy of NASA. But all that aside, I hope you will join me in praying for a safe flight and a successful mission for the Discovery today.